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Humphrey Sylvester Gainey (1810-1894)
|birth_year=1810 |birth_date-approx=c |birth_locality=Cork (city) |birth_nation-subdiv1=County Cork |birth_nation=Republic of Ireland |death_year=1894 |death_month=08 |death_day=16 |death_locality=Narrabri |death_nation-subdiv1=New South Wales |death_nation=Australia |ifmarried-g1=true |wedding1_year=1844 |wedding1_month=11 |wedding1_day=15 |wedding1_locality=Maitland, New South Wales |wedding1_nation-subdiv1=New South Wales |wedding1_nation=Australia |globals= }} Humphrey Geany - convict on the "Andromeda" in 1830 Life Sketch Humphrey Sylvester Gainey was the convict Humphrey Geany who was transported for life aboard the "Andromeda" in 1830. He had been charged with highway robbery. He was stated to be 20 years old. He could both read and write. His crime had occurred on 8 October 1829 and his trial was reported in the "Southern Reporter" of Cork in March 1830. All information pertaining to convicts to Australia during that time frame were destroyed in a fire that went through the Archives. Humphrey Sylvester's surname is spelt in the Australian records as Geary, Geany, Ganey and Gainey. The "Andromeda" left Ireland for New South Wales on 28 August 1830. During the voyage out from England, on 18 September 1830, Humphrey was one of 6 men put onto the sick list because of having diarrhoea. George Fairfowl, the ship's surgeon, made the following notation in his medical journal: "Seldom a day has passed since the convicts have come on board, without producing one two or three cases like these, they all arise from repletion and the day after pea soup has been issued is always marked by four or five cases of diarrhoea of colica." After being at sea for six weeks the prisoners began to suffer dysentery and this continued for the rest of the voyage. George Fairfowl could not accommodate all the men in his hospital which was already partly occupied by men with chronic diseases who should not have been embarked. He was obliged to allow many suffering dysentery to remain in the prison where they had to care for themselves. He also complained that "the prison was often a most offensive nuisance to a person coming from the fresh air" and that the ship instead of being fitted with water closets (toilets) was instead supplied with large iron buckets with loosley fitting covers. The "Andromeda" arrived in Port Jackson (Sydney) on 18 December 1830. The Andromeda arrived in Port Jackson with 172 prisoners. Altogether eight convicts had died, four of them from dysentery. The Colonial Secretary mustered 172 men on board on arrival in the colony. Twelve were later sent to the hospital in Sydney. On arrival in New South Wales Humphrey was assigned to work for Mr Berry at "Wolstonecroft". In the 1837 convict muster Humphrey was decribed as a government servant at Patricks Plains. On 3 December 1840 Humphrey received a Ticket of Leave on condition that he stayed in the district of Port Maquarie. On 20 September 1843 the district was changed to Maitland. On 15 October 1844 clergyman G K Reisden from East Maitland received permission for 34 year old Humphrey, a ticket of leave man, to marry Mary Thorpe age 21 (she was younger). They married on 15 November 1844. They soon started having children, and in December 1855 their 7th child was born. On 2 December 1844 clergyman G K Reisden from East Maitland received permission for 34 year old Humphrey, a ticket of leave man, to marry Sarah Small, a nurse maid, age 21 who had arrived as a single female immigrant from West Meath, Ireland on the 'Runymede' on 30 August 1841 at the age of 19. This permission came through too late as Humphrey was already married. Why Humphrey had asked for permission to marry 2 different women, and which woman he asked for permission to marry first, is unknown. On 1 June 1848 Humphrey was granted a conditional pardon. In the documentation his former occupation was listed as victualler. He was descibed as 6' tall, ruddy and freckled complexion, brown hair, light grey eyes (in other words blue), and his scars and tatoos were described. This was a deep scar in the corner of his left eye, a crucificion inside an arch, a man, cannon, flag, sword amd other military emblems on the lower part of his right arm, the words "Erin-go-bragh", a harp and a wreath on the upper part, a heart and flag on the upper on the upper left arm, and an anchor, a man and woman inside a heart, and a wreath on the lower left. This description was copied from the 1830 indent of the "Andromeda". On 10 January 1856 Humphrey was charged with on 29 December 1856 having deserting his wife and 7 children. He had left his family without any means of support, and the youngest child was only 1 month old. Humphrey was a carrier who had teams of oxen on the road, and it was stated that he could afford the £4 a week support for his family. Humphrey had brought a woman down with him from the county and was paying her £1 12s a week. A maintence order was made by the courts for £2 a week, £1 1s professional costs and 4s 6d court costs, or in default imprisonment of 3 months at Maitland gaol. On the same day Humphrey was charged with using threats and violent language towards his wife on 5 January. He had said that he would tear her to pieces and put a firestick in the house. She considered her life to be in danger, and "had no malice against him". The bench bound him to keep the peace and ordered him to pay 2 sureties of £10 each. The Police Gazette of 10 April 1856 says that Humphrey had been charged on 7 April 1856 at West Maitland with neglecting to comply with an order of maintenance of 10 January 1856 in favour of his wife who he had deserted. His description at that time was about 6' tall, ruddy complexion, dark hair, whiskers nearly meeting under the chin, scar left side of chin, scar under one eye. Two of his tatoos were described. A warrant was issued for his arrest, and he was apprehended on 10 April 1856. On Thursday 29 January 1857 Humphrey was charged at the Maitland Courts with assaulting his wife. On the Monday of the previous week he had torn her hair, bonnet and clothes after his wife Mary had orderd off Mary Anne Seymour with whom Humphrey had been at Morpeth. He was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment at Maitland gaol. He is described in the gaol entrance book as being born in 1814, 6' ½" tall, stong, fresh complexioned, with brown hair and blue eyes. He was a Roman Catholic and his occuption at the time was carrier. A number of tatoos were described, with ones that had not been in the previous descriptions being a shamrock, a coat of arms, and a mermaid. He was released on 28 July 1857 after serving 6 months "on default of bail". After being released from gaol he was before the Maitland courts on 14 August 1857 for an application to be made for the maintenance order to be quashed as Humphrey was again living with his wife. In May 1858, nine months later, their 8th child was born. Humphrey's wife Mary died in 1879 at Gunnedah. Humphrey lived another 15 years and died at Narrabri in 1894. Not charged with cattle stealing in 1868 Humphrey was not charged in 1868 with stealing oxen. The person charged was his son Humphrey Gainey (1848-1922). __SHOWFACTBOX__